Friday, February 1, 2013

Fruit and Nut Bars

I love Lara Bars...at least the Cherry Pie flavor. I rarely buy them, though, because they're so expensive. So yesterday I got out my food processor, flat blade, gathered some of my favorite nuts and dried fruits and surfed the web. I found several recipes, so obviously I'm not the only one who loves the idea of whole food fruit and nut treats! :0)

The first one I made was Cherry Almond. I modified a recipe found on DamyHealth.

Cherry Almond Bars {Our personal favorite}

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Dried Cherries

1/4 cup Seedless/Pitted sliced Dates

1/3 cup almonds

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Handful of coconut

1/16 tsp almond extract

Instructions {For all recipes}

Place all ingredients in food processor base with blade attachment. Process until very finely ground, maybe two minutes. Remove from base and pour mix onto foil. Flatten "dough" by hand into an even 5x5 square about 1 inch thick. Slice into four equal rectangles or smaller bite size chunks. Wrap in plastic wrap to keep fresh.

Cashew Chocolate Chip, Cherry Almond, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Cashew Chocolate Chip. I wasn't a fan of it at first. The cashew flavor was a bit strong, but it mellowed overnight and was delicious this morning!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted cashews

1/3 cup dates, pitted

1/2 tsp. vanilla

pinch of salt

1 Tb. vegan chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Ingredients:

1/3 cup dates

1/4 cup peanuts

1/4 cup cashews

handful coconut

capful of vanilla

1 Tb. vegan chocolate chips

pinch of salt

I encourage you to experiment with your favorite seeds, nuts, and dried fruits ~ Save some money and do your body good with a healthy treat.